Angry Birds and Transformers combine to form merchandising juggernaut

A few years ago, Angry Birds transitioned from a mildly clever iPhone game into a legitimate marketing machine. Almost overnight, Angry Birds had its own stuffed toys, Jenga-style block smashing games, and sugary snack garbage. The app now exists to sell that stuff, and that stuff exists to sell the app. It’s a marketing strategy that can be traced all the way back to Star Wars in the ‘70s, but one line of toys has managed to successfully implement it for 30 years: TheTransformers. The cartoons and movies advertise for the toys, and the toys make you want to see the cartoons and movies. Now, in the sort of move that business executives have money-filled dreams about, Angry Birds and Transformers are joining forces.

As reported by Coming Soon, Angry Birds developer Rovio will release Angry Birds Transformers later this year. While specific details about the game are pretty slim, we can safely say that it will probably involve launching birds dressed like Autobots at pigs dressed like Decepticons. It’ll be a clever twist on the usual Angry Birds formula, which doesn’t involve any Autobots or Decepticons but is otherwise the same. We also know it will involve what Rovio calls “Telepods,” which are physical Angry Birds toys that you scan into your game in order to unlock special birds. After all, you can’t have Angry Birds or Transformers without a corresponding line of toys. Its brilliance is only outmatched by its evilness.

We’re not sure which Transformers eras will be represented in the game—whether there will be horrible Michael Bay-style robots or chunky ‘80s robots—but Rovio has released a promotional poster done in the style of the 1986 Transformers movie, which has to be a good sign for the sort of nerd who would recognize an homage like that. We just wish Orson Welles were still alive to see a character he played represented by a giant, green pig. He’d think that’s as funny as we do, right?